Sierra Madre Granite

Review: This company was hired June 2013, to install Granite counter tops in our kitchen, 1st. floor bathroom, up stairs master bathroom and up stairs second (spare) bathroom. The first problem noted was with the granite counter top in the kitchen, at one end, it was at 1 1/8 and at the other end it was 2 1/8. When brought it to their attention, they did take it off to make the proper cuts to get it more in line at both ends. They did not use a template and rarely used a tape for definite measurements. After the granite slab was brought back and glued to the bottom of the cabinet, I noticed the corner slab of granite, had a 10 to 12 inch crack in it. They elected to keep it a secrete and when I asked about it, they assured me that it wasn't and it would be ok. Well it get's worse, they are licensed, bonded, and insured for granite work. The owner told us that he was also licensed, bonded, and insured to put in our Travertine tile floor, and both showers. Well we never checked and trusted this company with our showers and flooring. A level was never used on the floor to ensure that your not climbing in areas of the house, and you can see it, especially in the kitchen floor were the stove and refrigerator sit. (At an angle.) The biggest complaint that we have is that the upstairs bathroom tile, they used to much mud (concrete) on top of the backer board which is used as thin set to adhere and stick the tile to the backer board, the backer board lay's on top of your wood sub flooring, on the second floor for 2 stories for support so that the tile and grout does not come out. We can not marry our wood floors up to the tile because it was to high. So the owner of the company sent over his best tile guy for a remedy, to use less mud. But he elected not to use backer board and instead sticky paper that they promised would be ok. Well it's not ok, the bathroom floor grout and tile are moving, the showers were never completed, and the owner didn't care if I contacted the "[redacted]' or the [redacted]. But I have a surprise for you my friend, after the "[redacted]" takes your license for working out of "SCOPE" and lying about having the license, I think you will have a change of heart when my Attorney contacts you and put's you out of business. When you treat customers in this fashion, on account you are used to working for (FLIPPERS) investment companies that don't have real people living there yet, you can't get away with shoddy work and not making the customer happy when you make these outlandish mistakes. It has been three months now. I'll be seeing you in "COURT".

Business

Response:

We were hired to do the granite job by our customers by one of our sales representative [redacted]. We got to know Mrs. [redacted] because she went to our showroom a couple of times when she was looking for the right granite for her kitchen. We built a relationship and in one occasion she asked us how we got the granite business, my wife told her that we got another [redacted] license of tile but we have it in non-use because we were just doing granite. So one thing led to another and we made the mistake of doing the installation, and I did the installation myself because I have laid travertine more than 100 times and the customer asked me to do it. Because she felt secured with us. We finished everything, everything was good. Then the customers called us to let us know that everything was wrong, that he was going to sue us, file a complaint everywhere he could and was demanding us to give him his money back. We told Mrs. [redacted] that we would go back and see what was the problem. When I got to the house I saw that in the second floor where we did the bathroom floors they were trying to install laminated wooden floors and they wanted the second floor to be even wood and travertine. I explained to the homeowner that what he was trying to do was impossible because of the different materials. In one end you have ½ travertine and you have to use ½ mortar bed to install and ¼ wonder board so you are to have 1 ¼ - hist. And you are trying to go even with a wood laminated that in ? is impossible. He then told me that one wood guy gave him and estimate to install the same plywood and then he can install the wood laminated even with the travertine. But he was going to use 22 sheets because they are trying to install wood in all the second floor. But the homeowner did not understand, the solution he then got a wood guy to give him an estimate and the solutions was that the tile was too high and everything was wrong because the wood guy said so. I went and explained the difference of materials but they did not understand. So we came with a solution that we were going to remove some tiles and go down to the door so instead of being 1 ¼ - 1 ? high we were going to go down to 1 inch. So the only way to do that is by elimination of materials so we decided that instead of using wonderboard we were going to use soundguard, this is a material that you have to use in apartments for sound reasons. But that was the only way we can go down, because when you are putting stone/travertine on floor you have to use at least ½ mortar bed. We agreed that this was what we were going to do. I went on a Saturday and removed the tiles that I was changing. I paid for materials to do the repair. But I was going to use a tile guy that we know to do that work I was going to pay for repairs. So we scheduled the repair for the next Friday. When the tile guy went he was going to do the back splash on the kitchen that was removed to cut ½ inch in an end because it was ½ longer. So we did it, they were okay. I went to the house to explain what we were going to do with the tile guy and the homeowner. I told the tile guy to lay the tiles up stairs, but I told him do not grout, I will come tomorrow and grout. Everything was good. By 6:30 PM the tile guy called us to let us know that everything was great, that the customer was very happy, and that he was going to go back tomorrow and grout. We were glad, we told him to give us a call so we could pay him for the repair. The next day went by and there was no phone call from him, a week went by and still no phone call at all. Then Mrs. [redacted] called us to let us know that she was trying to reach the tile guy because the grout was cracking, he would not answer her calls. So we called the tile guy, he explained to us that instead of doing the small repair, the homeowner hired him to remove most of the bathroom floor so he did it. He removed it, then installed the rest of the bathroom floor, he grout it and installed the toilet all in the same day by the homeowner’s request. He installed the toilet because he was told by Mrs. [redacted] that her husband was not going to be able to do it himself. The tile guy told the homeowners to let the tile dry overnight so we could go and grout the next day. He then told me that he had finished that Friday around 8:00 - 9:00 PM, but he called me so I wouldn’t find out that he had removed more tiles by the homeowner’s request and that they paid him for all the repairs that why he never called us to get paid. He was blaming the homeowner for the grout being cracked, so I let him know that he made the deal with the homeowner, that he was the one that needed to talk to the owners, he said he had talked with Mrs. [redacted] and she told him that she will like to have the tile the way it was before the repair, it did not matter that it was high, she wanted the floor to be secured, but the grout cracked because they did not let the floor cure the proper hours, they hurried the tile guy to grout and install the toilet in the same day so the tile guy was blaming the homeowner. The homeowner tried to get the tile guy to go back and fix the grout but he refused to answer the phone. Then they called me and I was shocked about everything that happened without my knowledge. I told the homeowners that they changed everything that we were suppose to do in the repair, they should talk to the one they hired to do the removal of the tile because I tried and I spent money on materials. But they changed everything, I tried to help but it did not work. I did everything to do the right thing but these customers are impossible to work with. I have my mind at peace. I did all I have to do to make them happy but it is impossible. Let God be the judge. I sleep well at night knowing that I did everything I was suppose to do.My mistake was using ½ mortar bed to install travertine.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Let me comment on the owners statements about knowing that they were not licensed to do tile work; is false. The owner specially said that he was licensed, bonded, and insured to do granite and tile work, and we have an advertisement to prove it. Also written on the advertisement is the words granite and tile work with an [redacted] ([redacted]) [redacted] license number. However the [redacted] number is not for tile work. What the owner explains, that it was impossible to marry up the wooden floor to the travertine tile, because it had so much mud underneath. The height came to 2 inches in the door jam and it wasn’t far enough out or straight in the door to connect properly with the tile. We were going to use engineered wood not laminate as the owner is stating in his rebuttal. The owner’s tile man did do the kitchen backslash for use, however he was paid to do that. If I may comment on his work, we have problems with that too. The cover plate to the electrically plug in’s, are done in quarts stone, the quarts stone did not cover the boxes all the way, showing a big gap on the side of the cover plate. I told the tile man to come back the next day to grout, and he told me that he had to work. The owner never specified that he was coming over to grout the next day. I would have been astatic to know when they were going to show up most of the time, at all. The reason why I had the tile man take out more tiles than the owner wanted was on account of one end was at 1 1/8 and the other end was 1 ½ to 1 3/4. I just wanted it to be at the same height on both ends, and not walking up a ramp. They never used a level on anything and that’s the main problem I am having. I didn’t hire his tile guy, (he), the owner employed him to complete his mistakes. The companies Wife was called the very next day and she was told that the tile man groutedthe floor the same day an hour after it was laid. She was finding that hard to believe and was surprised he did that without letting it dry until the next day. Being in the fire service, we specialize in “CUSTOMER SERVICE” a Quality that this company needs a class in. I wish I would have read the first [redacted] complaint made on this company, I would have never used it. The Lady that made that complaint, places this company, to a T. We had a lot of the same issues and complaints. I can assure the [redacted], will not be able to help me any further in this matter, in which I am very grateful that they were here to review my complaint, and to let other future customers of this company be “AWARE”. I’m sure that the [redacted] will be able to send over an adjuster to witness the destruction that this company has done to my home, in sloppy workmanship and incompletion. Regards,

Business

Response:

Hello,